[How About This Book] 'Self-Worth' Over Confidence... I Am Enough Just As I Am

Jamie Kern Lima, From Troubled Girl to L'Oreal's First Female CEO
Adopted at Birth, Struggled with Identity and Belonging
Regained Self-Worth After Embracing Her "True Self"
Achievement Without Self-Worth Leads to Addiction and Self-Sabotage
Your Value Should Not Depend Solely on Others' Approval
We Are All Worthy of Love

A troubled girl who was adopted immediately after birth but wandered due to a lack of proper care from her busy parents, eventually ending up in a juvenile detention center. A woman who suffered from one-sided relationships because of low self-esteem. An unstable employee who made a living serving drinks at a strip club. A manager who hesitated to carry out even justified dismissals due to childhood memories of abandonment.

This book is a confessional memoir chronicling the journey of Jamie Kern Lima, who overcame difficult times to become the founder of IT Cosmetics and a renowned speaker alongside Oprah Winfrey.

During her childhood, she struggled with a tough environment and low self-esteem. Born from a brief relationship between her biological parents and adopted immediately, her mother was always busy, and her father, an alcoholic, was barely able to care for himself. Young Jamie yearned for warmth and comfort, but that wish was rarely fulfilled.

Although she excelled in sales thanks to her talent for connecting with people, she always felt empty and anxious inside. Her partner, who advocated for open relationships, often made her cry due to his complicated romantic life. As a broadcast anchor, she lived in fear of being fired because of her skin problems. Her heart would sink whenever she heard feedback through her earpiece that her skin issues were visible even under heavy makeup. The constant fear that her life could collapse in an instant, like a castle built on sand, followed her everywhere.

Psychological counseling, advice from those around her, and the Christian faith shared by a trusted friend played a major role in changing her perspective on life. Gradually, she began to build solid self-worth and confidence on her achievements and started to see life in a new light.

The book focuses on this transformation. It candidly depicts the journey from a past where she "spent most of her life feeling inadequate and doubting her destiny" to a life where she is "enough and precious just as she is, fully deserving of love and belonging." Beneath the dry headline "A restaurant waitress built a 1.2 billion dollar company" lies the story of "a woman who somehow learned to believe in her own worth; a woman who, though adopted at birth, accepted that she was chosen and born with purpose by God's design; a woman who knows, deep in her soul, that we are all worthy and deserving of love."

Jamie Kern Lima started IT Cosmetics in her living room and grew it into a top-tier American beauty brand. She later sold it to L'Oreal for 1.2 billion dollars, serving as CEO for three years and becoming the first female CEO in L'Oreal's 100-year history. One of the keys to her success, she emphasizes, is understanding the difference between self-worth and self-confidence. Self-worth is the inner belief that you are enough as you are, while self-confidence is your assessment of your talents and skills. She says, "Strong self-confidence without strong self-worth often keeps us trapped, making us afraid to take risks, afraid of rejection, and afraid of potential failure."

She also warns that achievement without self-worth can lead to addiction, self-sabotage, and unhealthy relationships. She points out the dangers of codependency, where one relies excessively on others and bases their value solely on external validation.

IT Cosmetics itself grew on a foundation of self-worth. Suffering from rosacea, she once went out without makeup and found profound insight in the silent smile of another woman struggling with the same skin issue. She realized that when she revealed her own vulnerabilities, it helped lessen the shame of others. This led to her sense of mission: "I am needed so that every girl and woman can keep moving forward."

Many investors suggested branding that would incite competition rather than empathy, and some hurled insults, saying, "No one would buy cosmetics from a woman with your body type." But she remained steadfast. In the end, six years later, she sold the company to L'Oreal for 1.2 billion dollars as the largest shareholder. She recalls, "Rejection was God's protection."

Jamie Kern Lima emphasizes that while people say they want happiness, the subconscious actually seeks comfort. True happiness becomes possible only when you discover your "real self." The question, "If you weren't afraid of rejection or failure, what would you do in life?" is the central message of the book.

The book is filled with aphorisms drawn from real-life experience. The author's faith is directly expressed, and in the final chapters, she actively encourages readers to embrace faith. Depending on the reader, this may affect how deeply they engage with the book.

Worthy | Written by Jamie Kern Lima | Translated by Heo Sunyoung | Allee | 484 pages | 23,000 KRW